The girl with no name
by ernasdottir
Summary: Snow is back in town and Belle is afraid she migh lose Ruby as a friend. Pre-relationship.


Note: I always wondered, why Belle is the only one with only one name and why her Storybrooke-persona was never mentioned. It's not beta-ed because I wanted to post it before the next episode for obvious reasons.

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"Cheery pie." Belle had barley time to sit down in her favorite booth at the back of the diner, before Ruby placed the dessert and a coffee in front of her. "It's the last slice. I've saved it for you," she said, obviously in a good mood. She rocked back and forth on the balls of her feet.

"Thanks." Belle looked at the big piece of cake barely visible under a mountain of whipped crème. It looked more like half of the cake than one slice. "Are you trying to fatten me?" She asked teasingly.

Ruby shrugged. "You have to make up for a lot of missed pies, I'm just helping out." She held out a fork for Belle, but when she tried to grab it, Ruby just pulled it back and out of her reach.

Belle rolled her eyes, trying to look annoyed, but failed miserably. She waved her hand, motioning Ruby to hand the fork over.

With a laugh that sounded more like a bark Ruby gave her the fork. "Go on, try it." she requested. "Make sure to take some whipped crème too." Ruby instructed enthusiastically.

Belle smiled. Even if she tried, she wouldn't have been able to avoid it. Carefully she guided the fork to her mouth, intent on getting everything into her mouth and not on her dress. Slowly she closed her mouth around the fork full of pie and closed her eyes as the delicious taste filled her mouth.

"That's delicious." She sighed.

"It's one of Granny's recipes, but I made it." Ruby explained proudly, growing a few inches as she stretched her shoulders.

"I'm impressed." And it warmed her heart to know that Ruby had saved a slice just for her. They're eyes met and Belle realized that there was so much she wanted to thank Ruby for, but didn't know how. Words were her friends and normally they never abandoned her, but right now even her huge vocabulary wasn't enough to express her gratitude. "Thank you."

Ruby lowered her head, hiding her face behind her long tresses, but for a second Belle thought she'd seen her blush.

"I better leave you to your pie and your books." Ruby pointed at the books Belle had placed on the table. "Looks like you're planning to stay for some time."

"As long as you keep the coffee coming." The phrase had been one of the first she had picked up from Ruby.

"That won't be a problem." Ruby answered with a mocked salute, causing Belle to giggle.

"You're still up for tonight?"

"Of course, I'm looking forward to a girls' night." She really was. She never had told Ruby, but they were one of her favorite activities.

"Great." Ruby walked backwards and only her wolf-instincts saved her from crushing into the table behind her. "I better get going," she stammered, "before Granny starts to complain." She gestured behind her right shoulder and at the counter, where her grandmother was standing, watching them with an expression of disapproval on her face. But as soon as the old woman's eyes found hers, the expression changed into one of kindness.

Granny was always fast to complain about Ruby's alleged laziness, but Belle had learned fast that it the constant complaining about each other was just their way to express their love for each other.

She always wanted to ask Granny why she was the only exception. No matter how long Ruby talked to her and even if the diner was bursting with customers the older woman never complained.

Belle took a sip from her coffee and leant back, relaxing against the backrest as she watched Ruby tending to the other customers. She definitely planned on staying for a while, maybe even till Ruby's shift ended. Next to the library Granny's Diner was her favorite place in Storybrooke. It was probably because of the Lucas' women who had kind of adopted her, since she first stepped into the diner. Especially Ruby was always looking out for her.

She would never confess it to anyone, but she loved the attention the waitress was giving her. Even though she complained every time about the amount of food Ruby placed in front of her, silently she loved the fact that her slice of cake was the biggest one and that she got more bacon and more fries than everyone else. She loved the feeling of being taken care of, even if it meant she would gain a few pounds. She barely could remember the last time she had felt like this.

_And we like when she touches us, her hand on our shoulder or her arm around our waist._ A small voice from the back of her mind chimed in.

Belle shook her head slightly, causing the voice to silence once again. She grabbed her book and started to read. It would keep the voice silence and her mind occupied.

Her eyes flew over the pages as she drank in every word greedily. The books in this world were so much better than the ones in fairytale land. They told about stories she never dared to even think, wonderful and gruesome, dark as the longest night and bright as the sunlight on the hottest summer day. She only looked up from her book to take another bite of her pie or to smile at Ruby when she passed to fill her mug again.

Engrossed in the world she was holding in her hands she didn't hear the sounds around her, but instead she heard the birds singing and the rustling of leaves in the wind as the heroine of the book walked through the woods, careful not to alarm the deer she was chasing.

_She looks like Ruby. _

Belle stopped and involuntarily her eyes searched Ruby who was at the other end of the diner, serving two customers their hamburgers. As if she felt the staring, she suddenly stiffened and whipped her head around, searching for the person watching her.

Belle stopped breathing when Red's piercing gaze found her eyes, the other woman's eyes dark and wild, like a predator's in search for his prey. She'd never seen this side of the other woman before.

It only lasted for the split of a second and then Red realized it was her and relaxed visibly. A grin split her lips and she raised her hand in a small wave. Belle blushed and returned the wave bashfully before she looked down at the table, her hand involuntarily rubbing her neck.

She really was a huntress.

And now she was struck with the image of Red, grazing the woods.

She turned back to her book, trying as hard as she could to change the appearance of the huntress. She couldn't concentrate on the story as long as she pictured Red as the heroine; her dark, hypnotizing eyes staring right at her.

Her fingers glided over the page before she closed the book with a sigh. She needed a distraction, something to keep her mind and the voice occupied, because the voice wouldn't stop asking her, what was so bad about picturing Ruby and she didn't have an answer for that.

She grabbed the second book; she had brought with her and read the title.

'Great expectations'.

Hopefully there wouldn't be a huntress or a wolf in it. With more force than necessary she opened the book and placed her finger under the first line. "My father's family name being Pirrip, and my Christian name Philip …." So far so good.

It didn't take long for her to relax once more as she engulfed herself further and further into the story. She noticed when Ruby refilled her mug, but didn't look up afraid that once again the image of Red would occupy her mind.

She didn't hear the chime of the diner's bell, but she wasn't able to ignore the shriek and the calls of "Red" and "Snow".

For the first time in hours she looked up from her book to watch Ruby engulf a woman with short brunette hair in a hug. She hadn't seen the woman before in Storybrooke, but she knew exactly who she was.

The Princess Snow, Red's best friend.

She and her daughter had come back only a week ago and Belle knew that the two friends hadn't had time talk to each other without interruptions. Red had complained about the fact often enough.

Belle smiled as she saw how excited Red was to have her friend back. She rocked back and forth on the balls of her feet and had Snow's hand tightly clasped between hers, while talking animatedly to her.

Snow free hand sneaked a lock of Red's hair and she twirled it between her fingers. Their familiarity spoke of a long and lovingly friendship and Belle felt a sudden sharp pain in her heart.

_I don't like it._

"Shut up," Bell whispered under her breath, angry at herself. With a huff and more forceful than necessary she opened her book again. For one last time she looked at the two friends, before she started reading again.

She needed to occupy herself.

_I still don't like it. _

She tried, really tried, but she wasn't able to concentrate on the book anymore. She felt nervous, her left foot was twitching uncontrollable and every few minutes she looked up from her book to glance at Ruby and Snow. The two had sat down on a table in the front, their heads leaned forward, nearly touching and they talked.

_They won't stop touching each other. _

The voice was right. Ruby still clung to Snow's hand, as if she was afraid, that if she let go that her friend would vanish again.

_Now that she has her friend back, she won't need us anymore._

She swallowed, cold fear gripping her heart. For a moment she closed her eyes, inhaling through her nose and exhaling through her mouth.

_She will leave us. _

She voice continued, more frantic than before. She tried to console her, to make her understand that people could have more than one friend, but the voice wouldn't stop.

On a normal day, she barley heard the voice. They had a deal. As long as Belle entertained her and occupied her with new stories, new things to learn, a new taste or a new song the girl stayed quiet.

But not today.

Today it was as bad as it had been the first night after the curse broke.

She had been scared when she first heard the voice and realized that she wasn't alone, that there was someone else occupying her mind and body.

The voice sounded small and scared, more like a little girl than a grown up woman.

For a moment she had thought that they had finally broken her. That after all this time being locked up, fighting against the despair and loneliness, she finally was broken.

That she had turned crazy at last.

And then it hit her. Suddenly she knew who it was that was screaming inside of her head.

Her other self, the person that had spent 28 years locked up in a small dark cell in Storybrooke.

The relief was short lived as the girl wouldn't stop.

She wanted to call out to her, calm her down, but stopped when she realized she didn't know her name, that the girl herself didn't know her name.

She didn't have a name.

The evil queen, or the curse or whoever had created Storybrooke hadn't bothered to give her Storybrooke-persona a backstory, or even a name. It just had thrown the girl into another cell in another world and had thrown the key away.

Maybe back than that had been a blessing in disguise, because the girl only knew this cell and nothing else. She didn't know about the world outside, about all the wonderful things she'd been missing.

But in that night, in this big soft bed in the nice room Rumpel had given her, the girl had realized what had happened. What she had been missing.

And there had been nothing Belle could have said or done to console her.

After that and after she met Ruby she always wondered if her friend heard two voices in her head as well; how Ruby and Red communicated with each other. But she never dared to ask, afraid that she was the only one and that Ruby might realize just how broken she really was.

*Ruby still cares about us.* Belle didn't know whom she tried to convince more, the girl or herself. She grabbed the mug and emptied the rest of her coffee with one gulp. She would show the girl, that Ruby was still their friend.

She placed the mug close to the edge on the table and waited.

Thirty minutes long.

For thirty minutes she had been staring at the empty mug.

Nothing had happened and with every passing moment, her devastation had been growing.

Normally it didn't take Ruby more than five minutes to refill it, no matter how crowded the diner was.

But not today.

Today Ruby hadn't even looked her way. Her attention was solely focused at Snow.

Had the girl been right?

Would they lose Red to her old, best friend?

Of course she was happy for Red that her best friend was back. She knew how much Snow meant to Red, but the girl didn't care. For 28 years, she didn't have anything to call her own.

For her sharing meant losing and she didn't want to lose Ruby.

_We need her!_

*We don't need anyone. We're fine on our own.* They had survived alone before, they could do it again.

_She introduced us to chocolate. _The girl said, like chocolate was the most important thing in the world and if she hadn't sounded that desperate maybe Belle would have laughed.

_There could be other cool things_ ("cool" being one of the things she had learned from Ruby) _out there._

_We need her to show us. _

*We won't lose her and even if, we still have Rumpel.* He would be enough. He had to be.

_I don't like him._

*That's because you don't know him. Not like I do, he has good in him.*

_He's creepy._

_I like Ruby more._

*I like her too.*

She's lost in her thoughts and fear that the hand she suddenly felt on her shoulder startled her. The mug, she had clenched in her hand without realizing it, clattered against the table plate.

She jumped up a little and looked up to find Ruby's concerned eyes on her.

"Oh hey." Belle tried to sound nonchalant, but even for her own ears she sounded nothing but shrill.

"Are you okay?"

Belle waved her hand dismissively. "I'm, I'm fine, just lost in my thoughts. You know me, it happens to me all the time. Especially when a book is as captivating as this one." She held up the book and forced herself to smile.

"Red told me you opened the library." Only now Belle registered Snow, standing next to Ruby. She blushed.

"I think that's a great idea." Snow smiled at her and Bell suddenly understood why everyone seems to be enchanted by the princess. Even though she was a princess too, Belle doubted that anyone would follow her into a war. But the way Snow smiled at her, giving her the feeling that right now she was the most important person, she understood why so many people risked their lives for her.

She knew that Red risked her life more than once for the princess and Bell wondered if she would do the same for her.

"It was Ruby's idea."

Snow laughed, throwing her head back. "Red and a great idea. That's a first."

"Hey." Ruby tried to look offended, but failed miserably, a faint smile curling her lips.

Snow ignored her and leaned closer to Belle. "One of her 'great ideas'" she air-quoted, "was to repair the roof of our cabin. And the next thing I know, she's crushing through the roof, missing me only by inches." She laughed again and Red shook her head amused.

Belle on the other hand was shocked. And even though Ruby stood in front of her, safe and sound, she was concerned. "Did you hurt yourself?"

Ruby waved her hand dismissively. "Mostly a bruised ego, the other bruises faded fast. Thanks to the wolf I'm healing fast and I never get sick."

"I'm glad." Belle exhaled in relief.

Ruby grinned at her and Belle smiled back.

"See at least one cares about me." Ruby looked at Snow, trying to sound hurt, but failing miserably.

Snow looked form one woman to the other, tilting her head slightly to her right side. There was an expression in her eyes Belle couldn't quite decipher, especially when she smiled as if she knew something that nobody else knew.

"Well, I better go. Charming's waiting." Snow looked at her watch and gasped. "Oh god, he's been waiting for over an hour already." She turned to Ruby and embraced her.

"Don't be a stranger."

"Don't worry you won't get rid of me that easy." Snow answered, before she turned to Belle. "Nice meeting you."

"You too."

Ruby watched as her friend left the diner, while Belle watched Ruby, biting her lower lip involuntarily. She waited with her question till Ruby's attention was on her again. "Are you two meeting tonight?"

"Nah," Ruby shook her head and flopped down next to Belle. "I'll meet her tomorrow." She looked at Bell a fat grin on her face. "I already have a 'date' tonight." She continued with a wink, placing her arm around Belle's shoulder. Belle leaned into the other woman's side, enjoying the closeness maybe more than she should. The tension from earlier fading.

_She still likes us._ The girl seemed genuine surprised.

And even Belle exhaled with a sigh. *Yeah she still likes us.*

"Are you okay?"

Belle looked up at Ruby, noticing the worried lines on her forehead. "Totally."

Ruby sniggered. It was a word she had picked up from the waitress. "You're ready for girls' night?" she asked.

Belle nodded.

"Great, cause tonight I'll introduce you to Tequila and Burritos." Her smile widened and Bell recognized that smile as her "trouble ahead" smile, but she didn't care.

She didn't care, if Red would never follow her into a war. As long as she smiled at her like this she would gladly be the one who followed.

_Where ever she goes. _

The end.


End file.
